WHITE SOX PLUS.

Generation now: Buehrle ace of remade staff

Lefty still humble as he zeroes in on AL's ERA title

August 14, 2001|By Paul Sullivan, Tribune staff reporter.

Mark Buehrle can sleep peacefully.

They won't put an asterisk by his name if Buehrle wins the American League earned-run average title. There will be no official explanation in parenthesis stating that Pedro Martinez did not qualify because of a lingering shoulder problem.

Buehrle, 22, enters Tuesday night's start against Texas with a league-leading 2.90 ERA, while Martinez still is rehabbing from a shoulder injury.

Martinez is all-planet, having won an ERA title in three of the last four years, starting with a 1.90 ERA at Montreal in 1997. After being traded to Boston, Martinez captured the AL title in '99 (2.07) and 2000 (1.74) and was leading again at 2.26 when his shoulder woes began.

A pitcher must throw at least 162 innings to qualify for the title, leaving Martinez 58 1/3 innings shy. Conservatively speaking, Martinez would need at least eight starts to qualify, and he's not yet close to returning.

Martinez had his fourth side outing Monday and will throw his first batting practice session on Thursday at Fenway Park before the Red Sox-Seattle game.

Buehrle says he is "shocked" by the recent development and acknowledges Martinez certainly will win the title if he returns in time. If Buehrle does become the league's ERA champ, he'll be only the second major-league pitcher to do so in his first full season. Detroit rookie Mark Fidrych accomplished it in 1976, three years before Buehrle was born.

Fidrych became famous for talking to baseballs. Buehrle isn't famous for anything yet, but he has a good head start. Like 21-year-old Kerry Wood in '98, Buehrle's team will not allow instant success to mess with his head.

"He's the same guy he was in spring," manager Jerry Manuel said. "He has good composure out there--doesn't panic. He has good presence and is a great, instinctive pitcher."

When the White Sox season ended in Seattle last October, one probably would have projected a rotation consisting of Mike Sirotka, Jim Parque, Kip Wells, Jon Garland and Jon Rauch in 2002, after the inevitable departure of James Baldwin.

But the combination of trades, injuries, unfulfilled expectations and a first-year general manager led to a significant alteration in the Sox blueprint. Buehrle, Garland, Dan Wright, Gary Glover and Sean Lowe form the next generation of Sox starters, with Buehrle at the head of the class.

The current five starters have combined for a 1.38 ERA since Wright's one-hit, 6 1/3-inning effort against Tampa Bay on Aug. 6.

Wright (2-0) has held opposing hitters to a .182 average in his first four games, shutting down the league's most prolific offense on Saturday, allowing one run on five hits in 7 2/3 innings. Glover shut down the Mariners on one run for 4 1/3 innings Sunday, and has a 1.89 ERA since being recalled from Triple-A Charlotte in June.

In his first go-around, Glover gave up six runs on seven hits on April 26 and five runs on four hits on May 12. Oakland's Eric Chavez hit the longest home run in Comiskey Park history off Glover, who eventually was demoted.

"The biggest [difference] is the few outings I had were either really good or really bad," Glover said. "The last three to four outings were really bad, and kind of hurt the ERA.

"When I came back up in the bullpen, I was more confident and positive I can get these guys out and make pitches and keep the team in ballgames. It's always a big lift when you feel like you can do it."